THE ETHER: A double-sided Dirty Penny

Reviewing Dirty Pennies' new album 'Kick Out The Rocks'

Have you ever checked up on a band you liked but haven't heard in a while? You look them up and everything seems different. They added a new member. The music has a new flair to it. Even their god damn profile picture looks more professional. Then you scroll down the info page and it all makes sense. New record label, a new promotion company. Your favorite bar room band is getting the ugly duckling treatment. It is a terrible fate when a no talent hodgepodge of experimental noise gets picked up. It is quite another feeling when it is a band that deserves attention. Dirty Pennies falls into the latter category. They deserve it more than most.

The Dirty Pennies have been slinging blues rock across town for four years. Their name has been a staple on show fliers since they began. They have filled every local stage and dive bar with the sound of rough and ready rock n' roll. Despite prolific live performances, we haven't seen a release since the band's debut EP.  That changed March 24th.

Released through Blue Brick Records, 'Kick Out The Rocks' breaks the long radio silence. The twelve song full length shows us the new and improved version of an already stellar band. There have been a lot of changes since we have last heard from them. They have added a new member. The blues rock power duo, Ryan Klem and Lucas Howe, have joined forces with bassist Joe Mungo to the mix. The addition adds a much-needed groove section the band's sound. Joe Mungo also seemed to infuse some indie rock licks into the roots-heavy music.

The Dirty Pennies' new album sways from old school to modern. The first two tracks could be from two different bands. 'Blood of Me' is a southern blues rock twangy, dirt road ditty. I had to check if it was a cover of John Lee Hooker. 'Explosions' on the other side of the spectrum more Arcade Fire than anything else. It is a change of pace, but a welcome one. The new sound casts a cheerier light on a genre of rock that gets too down on itself. The trio sounds like they are having a whole lot of fun in each song. The grit and gravity of their performance that still plants them as dirt road driving, dive bar drinking, rock. The single 'Kick Out The Rocks' is a 'Twist and Shout' style jukebox jam. The guitar playing in songs 'Woman of Mine' was ripped right out of R.L. Burnside's head. Their music is southern fried Strokes with a side of Lead Belly.

I could banter on for days about the influences and chords of each song. At the end of the day, it all boils down to one point. There is not a single song on “Kick Out The Rocks' that I do not like. Each song has its own character, its own personality. Have you ever heard a band try to make roots music sound too modern? It comes across like it's trying too hard. The Dirty Pennies is not one of those bands. They sit between the two genres, comfortable in their duality. When you live on both sides of the fence the grass is always green. You would never have combined those two sounds on your own. You are happy someone did.

Song To Listen To: The Drinking Song

Joe Palmateer is a freelance writer and music columnist. He previously founded the Rochester Insomniac Magazine and now knows too much about local music to stop writing about it. You can contact him at joe.palmateer@allwnyradio.com.

THE ETHER: A Q&A with WAYO radio's Mike Yates

In the modern mash-up of radio waves, podcasts, blogs, vlogs, and short films there are many outlets vying for our attention. When a million people are trying to tell you their opinions on life it is hard to find an unassuming outlet whose sole purpose is to provide art for the sake of art. Enter WAYO radio. Teaming up with MuCCC in 2015, WAYO has created a low power free-form radio station providing Rochester-centric content. We met up with one of the founders, Mike Yates, at the beginning of the year to learn how WAYO was started and what's next for the community radio station.

Joe Palmateer: 2017 is the start of your second year on the air. 

Mike Yates: We have been online since November 2015. January 4th is the one year over the radio. It has been great. We are really close to having twenty hours of human beings a day. We broadcast 24/7 but some of it is an automation system that is playing music out of a pool when no one is there. We have a couple more spots to fill before we are 6 am to 2 am every day. Not just stuff, but programs we are very proud of. People are putting so much of themselves and working so hard on their shows. We have a good leadership team. We have really beautiful, efficient studio space. We have not had any financial crises, which has been a good thing.

JP: That's huge. 

MY: Right now we are doing an annual campaign for the radio station. We have three major revenue streams, one is the annual campaign. One is underwriting, and the third is the fee that our programmers pay monthly. we have a sliding scale of 6 to ten dollars a month. It goes exclusively to rent. people are making payments to keep the lights on and keep the doors open. It is basically to assure that the station keeps going. It is not mandatory, We don't take time slots away if someone can't pay for a month.

JP: How did WAYO first get started?

MY: The first meeting between Matt Werts and I was in February 2012. It was a four-year project before it came to fruition.  The legislation was created in 2011 that made it easier to start low wave radio stations.

JP: Have there been a lot of radio stations that have spawned because of that law loosing up? 

MY: I have seen 750 as the number of stations that have opened since then.

JP: You received help from MuCCC correct?

MY: They hold the license itself. Their board is our board. They provide oversight and give us someone to be accountable to but they are not involved with the day to day of the station.  We have built a trusting relationship with them and they trust us to run our own station.

Prometheus Radio Project helped in the founding. They are a nonprofit in Philadelphia that has been around for some years and helped the passage of that bill in 2011 once it was passed they shifted gears to supporting applicants applying for a license. we were accepted into their torch bearer project that gave us a case manager who walked us through the FCC application. They connected us to an engineer. Who helped us do the study required by the FCC and prove we were not going to interfere with existing stations.

JP: How large is your span?

Roughly four miles, it depends on which direction. North and east there are not many obstructions We have heard of people getting it on the lake and in Wayne county. The problem with south of us is you run into the hills and going west the buildings downtown themselves act as a barrier.

JP: What I really like about WAYO is the amount of content that has spawned since you began. Was there a big surge of people looking to start a show when you first launched?

MY: We started recruiting people in April of 2014. We knew some people who wanted to be a part of this. We also have gotten people that I have never met until they put the application in. It has turned the station into so much more than what it was in my head. People brought themselves to it and their networks and their ideas. I think it was kind of a stepping stone. Someone would apply we would talk to them. They saw what we were about and gave us the opportunity to earn their trust. They became a cheerleader for the station and brought more people in.

JP: It is interesting to see how WAYO has grown in the last year. What are some of the biggest accomplishments you have had this year?

MY: Financial stability with something like this was a huge challenge that we accomplished. Training people. I think the first year was a lot of internal goals we, of course, want people to listen and enjoy. We have launched but were still in the start-up period it was about training all of our programmers and I think we came up with a program that worked very well. there were somethings that we didn't even know it would be a problem until it happened but I think we found a way to address them I think a huge accomplishment is we have been able to not only bring people to the station but our retention rate is very high. No one has left because they hate us. people have left because they went to school or got a job or left simply because they could not do it anymore. I think the leadership team has shown people that we are there to support them and to achieve the vision they have for their show. We are not there to circumscribe what they are doing or editorialize what they are doing. I think we built an organization that is very inclusive, supportive and personable group. We worked very hard to make that happen. I think that is a huge accomplishment.

We have also existed for a year without any major technical malfunctions. we have had a few hiccups but there has not been a day where we are off the air. All of that work is being done by two engineers who are doing this with no traditional compensation because they believe in it and want to be a part of that. they are amazing people who this is their station as much as it is anyone else. I think we have been able to connect with the music community and its totality in Rochester. I think when people talk about the music community they are often talking about their slice of it. I think through the depth of our programming we have been able to really engage with a lot of corners of it.

JP: Any setbacks?

MY: I think the ongoing challenge is that people are doing this in the cracks of their work, family, life. You can low-power station, you can call a community station, an all-volunteer station. But at the end of the day, we are keeping a full station going. We have 200 volunteers that is much larger than many organizations whose staff is paid. So it is so much work. Speaking for myself I have been through cycles of burnout. Exhaustion is a constant challenge. I do it because I feel a sense of purpose. This is the thing I am supposed to be doing but it is hard. I am hard pressed to put my finger on a major setback we have not been able to figure out. But the station is a lot and the people who are a part of it do a lot of work to keep it going.

JP: You were a DJ for WITR for six years before starting WAYO what made you want to get into broadcasting?

MY: I think it was something I always enjoyed growing up. I would listen to WBER, PXY, and WITR. There are cassettes of me and a friend dubbing a song to a cassette then basically doing mic breaks in between songs. That is something no one will ever hear, but they do exist. I think it was something growing up pre-internet that I always engaged with and enjoyed when I moved back to Rochester in 2008 I ran into a friend who had been in radio forever. She was at WITR, so I asked about getting trained. I thought I would get trained and pay my dues and maybe I'll have a show. It was summer at WITR. The schedule was empty because all of the students were gone. So I got trained and in two weeks I had a show Wednesday afternoons. I bounced around for a bit until I had a stable time slot. WITR provided an opportunity to do it week in and week out and figure out what I wanted to do a show and how to develop it and what I wanted to with it. WFMU is jersey city NJ which is a very prodigious long form radio station was a model for what I wanted radio to be. When it came for WAYO it was what I wanted our station to be.

JP: Is it weird from trying to find a balance between doing your own show and running the organism that is WAYO? did you have any experience in running your own station?

MY: No, we learned as we went. It was a lot of trusting our instincts and trying to be transparent and honest with people. I mean I think it's comically ridiculous that some as introverted as myself as the head of this organization. But maybe that played to my benefit. Because I am who I am and I couldn't do a slick pitch to someone even if I wanted to I think it helped in some ways because it felt it came from the heart to people. I think they picked up on that.

JP: What do you hope to accomplish for the station next?

MY: We are a year in but I think we are still in the start-up period. It is still about building infrastructure. We had a structure for the leadership team that has changed over this year as we did it and figured out what worked and what didn't work. We got to a point where we have really good people working on WAYO. I think figuring out how to keep working together as a team is a good goal. We want to start offering tools to help our programmers develop their shows. We have a performance area now where bands can play live on the radio. We want to keep building up what we can do and bring in members of the community to learn these skills.

JP: What do you like listening to?

MY: My tastes I guess you could put broadly in the rock category. I have dabbled elsewhere I think we have always wanted this station to be larger than our own tastes but I think I am someone who is curious about all forms of music. It helped to have this station that could capture so much. Rock music from different areas, with R&B, soul, more experimental stuff, or more pop stuff is what really engages with me.

Joe Palmateer is a freelance writer and music columnist. He previously founded the Rochester Insomniac Magazine and now knows too much about local music to stop writing about it. You can contact him at joe.palmateer@allwnyradio.com.

THE ETHER: Jettisoned to the stratosphere with Continental Drifft

Listening to Continental Drifft's third album 'Prequel'

Continental Drifft's sound is like a psychedelic experience. Always elusive and hard to pin down. The fuzzy four piece that has been cruising the Rochester scene for a couple years. Their tunes bring a modern garage rock flair to the acid jazz genre. Their music seesaws and shimmys through various influences. Quick shifts from garage rock, to blues, to jazz, to indie are common. Strung together with reverb-heavy grooves and uncommon lyricism.

Their latest album 'Prequel' released late February. It's the first influx of new music we have heard from the band in two years. It is a much needed alien transmission from our sludgy space cadets.

A center theme the band enjoys playing with is a strange one: Space Wizards. Continental Drifft acts as our cosmic bards telling us tales from a far away place. Each release in their discography is more like a chapter in a book. Each song gives us another look into a fantastical fictional world.

Their first album ' Wizarding War' sets the stage. The tracklist includes 'Emergency Broadcast,' 'Kids Go To War' and 'Take To The Skies'. The lyrics are about exactly what you think. References of away stars and robbed mystics are peppered throughout the album. The band described second album, Genesee Johnny, as a 'heart-rending, nightmarish vision of mystic nihilism'. It serves as a dystopian Mad Max-esque sequel to the first. The solemn heavy tones bring to mind sci-fi cities shell-shocked and ravaged by war.

Unlike the Star Wars prequels, this one is worth a damn. Continental Drifft jettisons us back to the beginning. 'Prequel' is a spacey psychedelic journey through the cosmos. The album takes a cheerful tone, much like the first. Vocalist, Shane Driffill, croons and groans his lyrics fitting well into the hallucinatory instrumentals. The feedback and pedal loops are theremin styled. Mike Converse is a rocket of a drummer firing off rapid percussion each track.

The guys bring it back to earth a few times breaking character of sci-fi storytellers. Rochester-heads will notice Easter egg references to bars and local locations throughout the album. The song 'Melancholia' is all about meeting a girl in the South Wedge. Though told in true Continental Drifft fashion. The story line of the song seems to shift timelines and add oddity to an otherwise simple topic.

The main appeal of this music is how well all these elements weave together. The songs can talk about insect rebellions and rocket ships without being cartoonish. The band bends and warps different musical genres into one immense sound. An individual style hard to find anywhere else. Even party songs with the usual themes of sex, drugs, and loud music contort into something new. The band keeps you guessing in the best way. Continental Drifft is the music that will be playing on the jukebox in the restaurant at the end of the universe.

• Song to listen to: Kinter Kings
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ContinentalDrifft/
• Bandcamp: https://continentaldrifft.bandcamp.com/album/prequel

Joe Palmateer is a freelance writer and music columnist. He previously founded the Rochester Insomniac Magazine and now knows too much about local music to stop writing about it. You can contact him at joe.palmateer@allwnyradio.com.

---

THE ETHER: The gentleman rapper is back

Reviewing M Dot Coop's solo album 'Finally, I Can Vibe'

M Dot Coop is a journeyman musician who always has his fingers in the Rochester music scene. He holds a stunning resume from solo projects, featuring spots, his work with Audio Influx, and a successful hip hop show series called 'Let's Be Friends'. His newest release 'Finally I Can Vibe' is his first solo album since the Suede Elbows EP in 2013.  If album's title is implying that Coop was held back up until now we are in for a good time.

To say the kid gloves are now off is a bold statement. Luckily, M Dot Coop does not fail to disappoint. 'Finally, I Can Vibe' is a personal manifesto wrapped up in interesting beats and wordplay. The gentleman rapper has a tongue-tying delivery that no one has reproduced. His sharp clever delivery forces you to listen to each verse a couple times to catch everything. The instrumentals send out ethereal vibes. The beats behind this album would fit during the climax of an action movie. The whole album flows and sways. Each song intertwines with one another.  The effect is the whole album seems to take on a life and heartbeat of its own. 'Finally, I Can Vibe' is best enjoyed with dim lighting and a thick haze of smoke.

There is not a wasted second in this LP. A gang of talent backs up the verbal virtuoso throughout this project. Local heavy hitters Chris English, I.Am.Tru.Starr and DJ Tim Tones all make appearances on the album. The backing talent adds a whole other level to an already beautifully complex album. The combination of head-bobbing beats and cerebral lyrics makes 'Finally I Can Vibe' a motivating force. The album gets your blood flowing and fills your head with dreams. His rhymes cover a range of topics but all boil down to the main theme: Work. It can best be summed up by M Dot Coop's own Bushido Code. The word 'Deli' which Coop peppers into his choruses, song titles, and the name of his entertainment company is actually an acronym. It stands for Dedication, Experience, Livelihood, Integrity. There is not a better way, to sum up, M Dot Coop's attitude and style than that.

• Song To Listen To: Show World feat I.Am.Tru.Starr
• Website: mdotcoop.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/mdotcoop/

Joe Palmateer is a freelance writer and music columnist. He previously founded the Rochester Insomniac Magazine and now knows too much about local music to stop writing about it. You can contact him at joe.palmateer@allwnyradio.com.

Rochester Insomniac's Palmateer joins All WNY News & Radio

BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@allwnyradio.com

---

All WNY News & Radio is about to go through a bit of a growth spurt with new additions to "the family" to announce in the coming days and weeks. Our first announcement: Former Rochester Insomniac Publisher Joe Palmateer joins us as a columnist.

Palmateer's column, entitled "The Ether," will largely focus on local music -- but as with any All WNY columnist, his space is his to mold as he sees fit, so don't be surprised if there's a random column some week about his favorite type of marsupial. It's unlikely ... but as we've gotten to know Joe, he might take that previous sentence as a challenge ... so maybe it's not that unlikely.

His column kicks off on Sunday and will run each Sunday here in this space.

To get to know him a little better, we've put together a brief question-and-answer. If you want to know more, feel free to email him at joe.palmateer@allwnyradio.com.

Q&A

Q: What's your interest in the local music scene?

A: I started sneaking into local shows when I was in high school. Listening to stuff I have never heard of always got a rise out of me. That change you feel in the air when a good band starts playing is addicting. I have been attracted to dive venues with the bad sound system like a moth to a flame. Even when I would come back to Rochester after living in other places the first thing I would do is look up local shows. Rochester has a diverse and incredibly interesting music scene that I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

Do you play music yourself?

I do not. I dabbled in guitar when I was younger but nothing came from it. I worked a lot of construction and brute labor jobs throughout the years and my hands show it. Oversized knuckles and digits set at weird angles don't work out well when trying to produce good sounds out of any instrument.  My head has always been set on writing. So I am happy to play the part of an appreciative bystander.

Tell me about Rochester Insomniac. Why and how did you start it?

The idea came about six years ago. After spending a night at a show, my friend and I would stay up drinking and complain that no one paid the right attention to the local music. We would mock the attempts of the Rochester Insider at the time. Talking ourselves up as the kind of people who knew where the real shows were. When the Insider closed its doors we were left with nothing to complain about at the idea to start our own blog started.

The Insomniac started as a Wordpress blog. We would try to shanghai musicians after their shows and get a quick interview.  Eventually, we got better at it and turned it into its own website. My friend who helped started it moved onto other interests. I assembled an ever changing pirate crew of like-minded college dropouts and the site eventually grew into a physical magazine. All of us were learning the ins and outs of what that actually meant as we published zines. Writing, layout, print, advertising, distribution all was done haphazardly and unprofessionally. At one point there was about five of us living in an office behind the Cadillac hotel. Best described as the best and worst years of my life. I learned everything not to do during that time and had a lot of fun failing. By 2015 we had figured out a groove and started actually hitting deadlines. 2016 was the first fully completed run of six issues with 10,000 copies each distributed across the city.

And why were you unable to continue it?

There wasn't one particular thing that made me decide to retire the magazine. I think all in all the magazine was growing faster than our knowledge level and resources could handle. Everyone involved was at some level of burnt out. I personally wrote about 400 articles last year between the magazine and my own freelance work. I think if I decided to brute force my way through another year of production the end result would not have been at the level I would want. Better to end on a high note rather than crash and burn a project that has consumed my life over the last six years.


What do you do professionally?

My work life is spent between writing and cooking, which are my primary interests. I am currently the head cook at Marshall Street Bar. We have been building up a catering business for the last couple years and are in the middle of building a second kitchen. Another fun example of learning about an industry on the fly. I get the same rush organizing large catering events as I do publishing a magazine. There is a lifestyle and energy that seems to fit both worlds.

As far as writing goes my freelance topics are all over the place. Now that the magazine is done I grab up whatever assignments I can.  Anything from top ten lists, to history pieces, to larger research pieces. Music writing is what I started doing, so there is always a special place in my heart for it. I have spent so much time and brain power on Rochester music scene it would be a shame not to keep writing about it.

Aside from music, what are your interests?

When I am not working on something I am usually reading to speed listening to podcasts. I have been devouring books lately especially philosophy and history books. Podcasts are huge, especially when you are on the go and don't have time to sit in one place and read. Last I checked I subscribe to about 30 shows. I have gotten into the habit of listening to some on 1.5X speed in an attempt to keep up to date on them. Probably not the smartest or sanest way to consume media. It fits me.

What do you want readers to know about you?

Besides what has been listed above there is not much to know. Everything else sounds like the standard author biography on the back flap of a book. “Joseph Palmateer lives in Rochester NY with his lovely girlfriend and two dogs”.